Over the summer, the metro media gave a curious batch of publicity to a creepy Edmond spider collector named Nick Krueger.
No relation to Freddy, Nick apparently managed a local spider Facebook page called Spiders of Oklahoma. He would also go to people’s homes and, free of charge, capture and collect their unwanted spiders, which he would then take back to his house to extract, harvest, and sell their venom.
You know, totally normal stuff.
Within a two-month span last summer, Nick received a heavy dose of local media attention for his arachnid fascination. KWTV News 9, KOCO Channel 5, and Yawn Doc all provided glowing write-ups. He even got the "Is This A Great State or What?" treatment from KFOR’s Gaylen Culver:
Here’s the video:
In this case, the answer to Gaylen’s proverbial question is – “Or What?”
Earlier today, word came out that Krueger was arrested by Edmond police after they discovered he had manufactured a homemade explosive device in his home.
Here are details of the arrest via News 9:
"An Edmond man known for collecting spiders has been arrested, accused of building an improvised explosive device, police said…"
"Among the shelves of spiders in his home, police found the device hidden in a bedroom safe, according to a police affidavit. Krueger admitted to constructing the device during the summer of 2024, stating that he used black powder and a fuse from leftover fireworks."
Yep, in between his interviews with Channel 4, Channel 5 and Channel 9, the dude was making a bomb. You could tell from his media appearances over the summer that Nick was no Peter Parker, but that's some wild stuff!
I was actually a spider's hair away from writing a TLO roast article about Nick, but I figured I already had enough enemies in this town, and wasn’t in the mood to add a man who collects spider venom to the list.
In hindsight, I guess that was a pretty wise call! In addition to black widows—and homemade bombs—the dude also collects castor beans:
"Additionally, police discovered castor beans inside a can labeled 'Ricin.' The production of castor beans is illegal in Oklahoma due to their potential use as a biological weapon."
Yep, collecting hundreds of poisonous spiders and allegedly mailing their venom to zoos wasn’t a dangerous enough life for this guy. He had to go full Heisenberg, build bombs, and collect the ingredients for ricin. Basically, Nick’s the one who knocks.
News 9 claims that authorities will have more information on the case soon and answer questions we’re all wondering, like: “Why did he have a bomb?” “Why did he have castor beans?” and, perhaps most importantly, “Who’s going to take care of his spiders?”
Seriously, is he going to hire someone to come feed them? I’d imagine that’s a difficult position to fill on Rover, but it needs to be done.
The last thing this state needs is a bunch of angry, hungry spiders to escape from Nick's home and start terrorizing Edmond neighborhoods spinning webs and eating people in their sleep!
"Let's go live to Val Caster in Oak Tree for more on the spider outbreak! Val, what do you see?"
"Ahhh! They're everywhere. Heeeelp! HElllp!"
Okay, who are we kidding. An Edmond spider outbreak would actually be cool, especially if it happened on Halloween night.
Anyway, I guess we'll monitor this story and provide and updates if and when they become available. We hope Nick's spiders are okay and he gets the mental health treatment he needs.
Stay with The Lost Ogle. We’ll keep you advised.
